Poetry Month

By Kirsti Call

I’ve always loved poetry.  Robert Frost’s STOPPING BY THE WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING and Emily Dickinson’s I’M NOBODY are permanently seared into my memory from childhood recitations.  My first published poem in the elementary school newsletter still makes me smile: “…he howled and yowled all through the town, which made the sheriff frown.  And that is why my dog’s in jail and that’s the end of my tale”.  

I still memorize poetry with my children.  We can recite IF and DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT and O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN.  I read  Jane Yolen’s poems daily. If you sign up here, one of her phenomenal poems will come to your inbox every day. But until recently, I hadn’t written poetry for about 20 years.  I just finished taking Renee LaTulip’s Lyrical Language Lab.  (Thanks Kidlit411 for the amazing prize!)  What a wonderful way to get me writing poetry again!  I’d forgotten how much fun it is to puzzle out a meter and rhyme!  This month I’m also participating in Angie Karcher’s Rhyming Picture Book Month challenge.  Every day I read 2 rhyming picture books and a blog post about writing rhyme well.  I love the idea of a full month of focusing on the power of poetry!  

Here’s a poem triggered by an assignment from Renee.

Daddy Long Legs

I see your shadow–

Eight angled knees looming over my journal–

An anorexic octopus sans ink.

Delicate as a bird’s wings–

Ravenous for my words,

The things of my heart…

But I wonder about you–

A spider, confider, an object of beauty…

A creature unruly, unchecked by your duty.

I’m grateful for poetry and here’s my challenge for you:  Take a moment to read or write a poem this month.

What is your favorite poem?  Please share your favorite or share something that you’ve written this month in celebration of poetry!